Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 20/22
THE CANADIAN REPORT
By Jim Fox
The Canadian government will decide on Monday whether it still needs to pass a controversial Emergencies Act to deal with anyone still at the illegal occupation of Canada’s Parliament grounds in Ottawa or coming back.
A massive congregation of police officers from across Canada and the Mounties began arresting protesters one-by-one and seizing their trucks and cars on Friday that had occupied the capital the past three weeks.
Despite orders to leave, hundreds of protesters in the trucker convoy were being arrested and vehicles seized and towed.
In what started as anti-virus mandate protest to “take back their freedom,” the participants refused to leave until Canada’s government is replaced.
Similar protects closed the Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario with Detroit that lasted six days and other smaller protests across the country.
People who have given money in the millions of dollars to support the blockades and protests should be concerned, including Americans who have given the majority of the cash through social media sites, said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Financial service providers have started freezing bank accounts of people associated with the trucker activities and those supporting the illegal occupation, she said.
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Just in time for the mid-March Spring Break week, Canada is loosening its border virus test rules.
As of Feb. 28, vaccinated travelers will no longer need a molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada but instead can opt for the much-less expensive and easier-to-use rapid test.
The tests need to be managed by a laboratory, health care or telehealth provider.
Some fully vaccinated travellers might still be randomly selected for a molecular test at the airport, but they need not quarantine while they wait for the result.
As well, unvaccinated children younger than 12 and traveling with vaccinated adults will no longer have to isolate from school, daycare or other public places for 14 days after they arrive in Canada.
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News in brief:
- Teen-aged violence has police and parents concerned in Toronto. A 14-year-old boy was arrested for murder and attempted murder in a shooting at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate. Another boy was arrested for “aggravated assault” after a Toronto transit driver was stabbed over a fare dispute with a group of youths. It was the second stabbing of a transit worker in a week, with a 30-year-old man facing charges of assault with a weapon.
- Charles Juravinski, a businessman and philanthropist, who supported health care across Hamilton, Ontario, has died. He was 92.
- The new Hurontario Light Rail Transit line will be named after Mississauga, Ontario’s former Mayor Hazel McCallion, to mark her 101st birthday.
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Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is steady at 78 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.28 in Canadian funds, before exchange fees.
The Bank of Canada’s key interest rate is unchanged at 0.25 percent while the prime lending rate is 2.45 percent.
Canadian stock markets are lower, with the Toronto index at 21,094 while the TSX Venture index was 849 points.
The average price for gas in Canada is at a record high at $1.56 a liter (Canadian) or $5.92 for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto Max: (Feb. 15) 19, 26, 28,36,40,42 and48; bonus 6. (Feb. 11) 1, 10, 12, 30, 33, 34 and 36; bonus 4.
Lotto 6/49: (Feb.16) 2, 8, 30, 31, 40 and 44; bonus 11. (Feb. 12) 1, 25, 26, 37, 40 and 43; bonus 3.
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Regional brief:
- Anti-pipeline protesters have caused “millions of dollars” in damage at the Coastal GasLink project in Houston, British Columbia. Mounties said about 20 people attacked security guards where the 500-mile natural gas pipeline is under construction. They blocked the road and damaged heavy machinery and buildings. No serious injuries were reported.
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